The present invention generally relates to information and communication systems and, more particularly, to systems and methods for providing an open and horizontal platform to distribute and operate connectivity based services.
Recently, many advances have been made in the areas of information and communication technologies. For example, computers, and in particular personal computers, have radically changed the way in which information is manipulated and stored. Moreover, microprocessors are being incorporated into more and more products and are controlling an ever increasing number of processes in the modern world. It is not unusual today to find microprocessors controlling the household appliances we use daily, the automobiles we drive, and even the televisions and VCRs we view for entertainment. At the same time, communication systems continue to expand and develop. For example, in the last decade commercial wireless communication systems have become widely popular for personal communication services. Data communication services have rapidly become more widespread, as well. Notable among the proliferation of new data communication resources is the advent of the Internet.
Practitioners skilled in the information and communication arts frequently view the technologies of information and communication as rapidly becoming one integrated technology rather than two separate areas of research and development. As devices which process and manipulate data become further integrated with devices which communicate data, the potential to use such integrated technologies expands their applicability. For example, Applicants believe that in the near future the number and availability of connectivity based services, i.e., services which monitor or control the operation of remote devices, will rapidly increase.
For example, one form of connectivity based service might entail a utility company remotely monitoring and controlling the operation of a subscriber""s devices which consume electricity. Other potential uses for connectivity based services include industrial equipment monitoring and control, building automation, safety and security of both commercial and residential environments, Internet access and electronic commerce, telephony services and mobile communications. However, to date, no integrated solution exists for handling the installation, maintenance, operation control and billing for such connectivity based services.
FIG. 1 depicts existing communication tools arranged by the degree to which each is dedicated to a particular function. FIG. 1 further lists positive and negative attributes of dedicated communication tools and multifunction communication tools. The communication tools of today may be described as belonging to a spectrum ranging from those devices having dedicated functionality and dedicated connections to those devices which are multifunctional and may have many communication connections to different input/output devices.
The sampling of current communication tools shown in FIG. 1 depicts modems and electricity meters at the dedicated end of the functionality spectrum. These devices have certain positive characteristics which include security of information transfer, reliability, ease of maintenance and relatively low cost. However, dedicated communication devices also tend to have the drawbacks that they possess little intelligence or memory and are not very flexible in that they typically have a single dedicated communication channel, provide a limited communication interface for end users and are not easily reconfigurable. Because of these drawbacks, dedicated communication devices are inadequate for use in delivering connectivity based services.
At the other end of the spectrum, today""s personal computers provide a wide variety of information and communication services to the end user. These types of devices have the advantages of being relatively flexible with multiple communication interfaces, often have significant memories, and possess the capability to add new applications as they arise. However, in contrast to both personal computers and dedicated communication devices, multifunctional communication tools suffer from poor reliability, are relatively expensive, are difficult to maintain and support and typically require sophisticated user interaction in order to perform their desired functions and/or add new functionality. For these reasons, multifunctional communication devices are poorly suited for delivering connectivity based services.
Accordingly, Applicants recognize a need for a new platform to support the arrival of the anticipated plethora of connectivity based services which Applicants expect to be created in the wake of the evolution of the information and communication technologies. Such a platform should have as many of the positive characteristics of both dedicated and multifunctional conventional communication tools as possible, with as few of the drawbacks as possible.
These and other drawbacks and limitations of conventional information and communication systems are overcome according to the present invention wherein a platform for connectivity based services is provided in the form of a service gateway system.
Accordingly, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide secure, robust connectivity based service gateway or services platforms. It is a further purpose of the present invention to provide a flexible system for remotely managing the service gateways, while maintaining compatibility with existing information and communication technologies, protocols and interface standards. It is a further purpose of the service gateway system to allow multiple service gateway applications to simultaneously operate without detrimentally affecting each other. It is a further purpose of the service gateway system to be able to cease operations and restart from any level, regardless of whether operations are ceased purposely or inadvertently (e.g., crash). It is a further purpose of the service gateway system that all configurations be persistent, and be either locally or remotely downloadable.
The service gateway system according to the present invention facilitates the development, implementation, operation and maintenance of services in an integrated manner so that the interface between different services providers and the end user is transparent to both. Each service may comprise a set of functionalities and logic which are implemented as software service applications. The service application may be distributed among various pieces of equipment which are geographically separated. Implemented in the software are functions designed to monitor, control and otherwise interact with remote devices in a manner which can be easily monitored by the service provider, the end user, and, potentially, other intermediary operators.
Service gateways according to the present invention are dedicated and scalable so that many different types of services can be implemented efficiently using the same service gateway. Service gateways according to the present invention are preferably open platforms to allow for the development of service applications by third party developers. Moreover, standard communication protocols and programming languages may be used in order to facilitate such software service applications development. In addition to being open platforms, service gateways according to the present invention are intended to be horizontal in nature so that a plurality of service providers can share the same platform infrastructure. While sharing the same infrastructure, the service applications can be modularized so that from the perspective of the service providers, a service gateway according to the present invention will appear as if it is dedicated to each service provider""s respective service.
Service gateways according to the present invention are preferably operated, maintained and supported by a business entity rather than end users or subscribers, in order to provide ease of operation, maintenance and support with respect to the end user and promote security and reliability of the services which are deemed to be significant characteristics of service gateways according to the present invention. The business entity which performs the operation, maintenance and support of the service gateways may be different from the entity which actually provides the services being subscribed to by end users. The end user may be an individual, a residence, a business or any other type of entity.
Service gateways according to the present invention are intended to be generic in many ways in order to support different types of services and different types of equipment which provide those services. For example, multiple types of access solutions are envisioned according to the present invention including those involving local area networks and external networks. Various types of terminals may be used to link with service gateways according to the present invention to obtain information about an implemented service or about results associated with such service. Interaction with the implemented service is separated from implementation of the service itself. Given the wide variety of communication devices available today, and a desire to support these various devices as terminals which may access service gateways according to the present invention, various types of output are supported including different types of display sizes.
According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, service gateway equipment can be connected to a local area network through which the service may be implemented. By providing, as part of the service gateway, such service gateway equipment, services can be personalized and adapted to individual users or entities. Moreover, by localizing some of the functionality of each service proximate the remote devices which are controlled or monitored to actually implement the service (i.e, in the dedicated platform servers), bandwidth associated with each communication link used to implement the service may be efficiently controlled.